Public opinion on nuclear energy

Global #

Amultinational public opinion poll conducted by Savanta on behalf of energy consultancy Radiant Energy Group showing increased public support for nuclear outnumber opponents by 46% to 28% in 2024 across the 20 countries surveyed [1]. Support is over 3x higher than opposition in the world’s two most populated countries, China and India.

66% of respondents said nuclear is reliable. The survey found that people who view nuclear energy as reliable have over four times more support for its use.

79% of respondents said they are concerned about nuclear safety. Within this group, a majority of 40% nonetheless support the use of nuclear energy while 33% oppose it.

However more than half (53%) of respondents thought nuclear energy created a fair amount or a great deal of greenhouse gas emissions.

Europe #

Denmark #

Denmark has historically been very negative towards nuclear energy. But since 2021 there has been a big change in the attitude among the Danes. An opinion pool by Megafon from August 20223 shows 55% of Danes now believe that we should investigate the possibilities of nuclear power in Denmark and 26% is not [2].

Finland #

A survey by Kantar Public in December 2022 revealed support for nuclear power in Finland at an all-time high, with 60% of respondents in favour of nuclear power and only 11% against. Of the 60% of respondents in favour of nuclear energy, 34% were ‘completely’ in favour while 26% said they were ‘mainly’ in favour. Climate change has long been one of the key factors behind the popularity of nuclear power. A majority, 62%, saw nuclear power as crucial to mitigating climate change [3].

According to a survey by Kantar Public commissioned by Finnish Energy collected in March and April 2023, 68 % of respondents are in favour of nuclear power, while only 6 % oppose. The majority of supporters of all political parties have a positive attitude towards nuclear power, including the Greens, with 52 % support [4].

Poland #

Public support for nuclear in Poland is strong.

According to a survey commissioned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment in November 2023 90% of Poles support the construction of nuclear power plants. Almost 77% of those surveyed would agree that such a power plant should be built near where they live. 91.5% believe that the construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland will contribute to the country’s energy security. 87.3% of Poles believe that building a nuclear power plant as a low-carbon source of energy generation is a good way to combat climate change [5].

Sources #

1. Public Attitudes toward Clean Energy 2023 – Nuclear (radiantenergygroup.com)
2. Ny måling: Mere end hver anden vælger er åben for atomkraft i Danmark – Altinget – Alt om politik: altinget.dk
3. Support For Nuclear Energy Highest Than Ever In Finland (euronuclear.org)
4. Popularity of nuclear power reaches a new record in Finland – Energiateollisuus